The Etna class was a class of six 16 or 18-gun corvettes with a flat hull, designed by Pierre-Alexandre-Laurent Forfait and his pupil Charles-Henri Tellier. Four separate commercial shipbuilders were involved in their construction by contract - including André-François Normand, Courtois and Denise at Honfleur, and Fouache at Le Havre (two ships), while the sixth vessel was built by Pierre Ozanne at Cherbourg Dockyard. The vessels were flush-decked and originally designed to carry a 12-inch mortar. However, as the British navy captured Etna within a year and a half of her launch at which time she was not carrying any mortar, it is possible that the design was modified quite early to delete the mortar.
The Royal Navy captured three of the six vessels in the class. Three members of the class (including two in Royal Navy service), were lost to wrecking or grounding. Only one of the corvettes served for over 20 years.
Etna class (6 ships) Etna Builder: André François and Joseph-Augustin Normand, Honfleur Begun: June 1794 Launched: April 1795 Completed: May 1795 Fate: Captured by on 13 November 1796. Commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Aetna and later renamed HMS Cormorant. Wrecked off Egypt in May 1800.
Cérès Builder: Jean Fouache, Le Havre Begun: May 1794 Launched: May 1795 Completed: July 1795 Fate: Wrecked on the shores of Norway on 17 February 1798 Notes: Renamed from Courageuse in May 1795; may have been renamed in 1797 to Engant de la Patrie
Vésuve Builder: Denise, Honfleur Begun: June 1794 Launched: 7 August 1795 Completed: October 1795 Fate: Broken up in Rochefort August/September 1830 Notes: Fitted as a flûte between November 1802 and June 1803; refitted at Le Havre in February 1807 and reclassified as a 20-gun corvette; on 31 October 1815 her use as a headquarters hulk in place of Serpente was approved.
Étonnante Builder: Fouache & Reine, Honfleur Begun: June 1796 Launched: 27 August 1795 Completed: November 1796 Fate: Hulked in Brest in 1806
Mignonne Builder: Cherbourg Dockyard; constructeurs: Pierre Ozanne and after March 1795 Jean-François Lafosse Begun: 6 October 1794 Launched: 15 October 1795 Completed: April 1797 Fate: HMS Goliath captured Mignonne in June 1803 in the West Indies. Though the Royal Navy never commissioned her, she did serve briefly before she grounded in December 1804 and was condemned.
Torche Builder: Courtois, Honfleur Begun: June 1794 Launched: April 1795 Completed: May 1795 Fate: Captured in August 1805 by HMS Goliath and incorporated in the Royal Navy as HMS Torch. She was never commissioned and was broken up in 1811.
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Citations
References
Winfield, Rif & Stephen S Roberts (2015) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786 - 1861: Design Construction, Careers and Fates. (Seaforth Publishing).